Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: This paper sought to identify how schools can use parent involvement as a tool to reduce the achievement gap. Parent involvement in children's education is associated with improved educational outcomes. However, the nature and effects of parent involvement may differ by the same demographic characteristics associated with the achievement gap--income level, parental educational attainment, and race/ethnicity. Better understanding of why this is true can lead to more effective parent involvement planning on the part of schools. Examining parent involvement in terms of cultural capital—the fit between school and home culture--provided useful insights into how schools can more effectively involve parents and improve achievement among non-dominant groups.

Methods: Data were collected from 415 third to fifth graders using the Elementary School Success Profile. The level and effect on academic achievement of involvement at school, homework help, educational discussions, management of home activities, and educational expectations were examined for parents of varying income levels, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity. T tests, chi square statistics, and hierarchical regressions were used to test hypotheses from Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital.

Results: Consistent with Bourdieu's theory, parents with different background characteristics enacted different patterns of educational involvement. Parents from dominant groups (European-American, more educated, non-poor) engaged significantly more frequently in involvement activities at school and in educational discussions with their children--activities with the strongest relationships to achievement. Conversely, parents from non-dominant groups engaged significantly more frequently in the management of home activities, an activity with a non-significant relationship to achievement.

The relationship of some parent involvement activities to achievement varied across groups. Consistent with Bourdieu's theory, the high educational expectations of non-poor parents appeared to yield greater benefits in terms of their children's achievement than the same high expectations among low-income parents. More educational discussions were associated with higher academic achievement for European American children, but lower achievement for Hispanic/Latino children. More frequent homework help on the part of Hispanic/Latino and African American parents was associated with higher achievement for their children, while the opposite was true for European American parents. Inconsistent with Bourdieu's theoretical predictions, children from all backgrounds benefited similarly from their parents' involvement at the school.

Implications: Substantial levels of parent educational involvement occurred among all groups of parents. Dominant group members engaged more frequently in the type of involvement preferred by schools (i.e., involvement at the school during school hours). Parent involvement at the school was strongly associated with achievement, but, it may be that it is the face-to-face nature of this type of involvement that matters most. Efforts to meet with parents off campus at times and places that accommodate their work and family schedules may extend the benefits of parent involvement at the school to non-dominant groups. In addition, school staff should develop strategies to enhance the benefits of the home involvement activities that many parents prefer instead of focusing on efforts to obtain parent compliance with school-preferred involvement activities.